


Recovering from Sins.

by Loser_Weeb_Writes



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Adult Chara, Bara Sans, Blood, Blood and Gore, Chara had a bad early childhood, Chara is an adult, Chara is hurting and needs some help, F/M, Gaster is a dick, Hate to Love, Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Lots of Angst, Mental Health Issues, Other, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Slow Burn, like really bad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-09
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-01-11 00:44:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12311277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loser_Weeb_Writes/pseuds/Loser_Weeb_Writes
Summary: It had been 4 years since monsters first came in contact with the surface. It’s been half that since Chara and Asriel suddenly re-appeared. Chara had just turned nineteen, Asriel eighteen, Frisk twelve. During that two year period, Chara had gotten counseling and was able to better handle themselves in society. They no longer felt the urge to hurt people. Now? They lived with Sans, helping him take care of himself while Papyrus went off to college. Things get much worse when they live with the source of their nightmares, but will they get better?(spoilers; It does. It'll just take some time.)





	1. Chapter 1

“Get out,” Sans insisted, glaring at Chara, his one eye glowing blue, faint flickers of yellow sparking then fading back to blue. A snarl took the place of his usual grin.

Chara’s heart raced in their chest, icy fear flowed through their veins. They glared back at him, their tone dry as they responded with, “Look, I’m not happy about this situation either. Frisk told me to take care of you while Papyrus is away at school. That’s the only reason I’m moving in, Comedian.” A few moments are spent in silence as Sans continued his domineering glare, not quite willing to have this killer remain on his property.

“Frisk sent you, then?” The skeleton asked incredulously, not quite believing the story.

“Why else would I be here, other than a death wish?”A few more moments of tense silence passed by as Sans mulled it over.

A few more moments of tense silence passed by as Sans mulled it over.“You sleep on the couch.” Sans insisted, obviously forcing himself to relax. The aura of rage still clinging to his skeletal form as he stepped forward to take the bag of toiletries from Chara. He let them do the rest of the heavy lifting. He didn’t even bother to offer his help, he already knew what Chara would respond with anyway.

“You sleep on the couch.” Sans insisted, obviously forcing himself to relax. The aura of rage still clinging to his skeletal form as he stepped forward to take the bag of toiletries from Chara. He let them do the rest of the heavy lifting. He didn’t even bother to offer his help, he already knew what Chara would have responded with, anyways.

As he did so, they rolled their eyes and said, “Fine with me, I don’t plan on sticking around long anyway.” They toss their stuff at the end of the couch and pull out their phone, texting Frisk to reassure the other human that they were alright and alive.

Sans, meanwhile, took their toiletries upstairs dumping what he could into the unused drawer. The rest he shoved into a cabinet, not really caring about them until a bag of pads falls directly onto him. He took a little solace in the fact that he would see them in agony for a week once a month. He cruelly yelled out, joking, “Nice to finally know what’s between your legs, babe. Maybe that’s why you were so violent.”

There was a distant, ‘Fuck off Sans’ that lessened his growing irritation.

After remotely cleaning up, he headed back out to the living room. Upon realizing that the human was no longer on the couch, he panicked. He searched around the house, only to find them in the kitchen, munching on a sandwich they had made.

They shoot him a grin, obviously mischievous, “I’d offer you a bite, but I know I’d just go right through you.”

Sans growled, his shoulders tensing, “Rule two, no knives. None. Zip. Zero. I know how you get, you little brat. Touch one, and you’re dead.”

“Fuck, Sans, I know. I get it e-fucking-nough from Asriel and Frisk,” Chara growled back, narrowing their red eyes at the skeleton before going back to chowing down their sandwich. They feel his eyes still on them as they ate. His gaze was still cold, still calculating, still pissed. “Careful, could kill a man with that gaze,” They joke, finishing the last bite.

“Kinda what I’m going for, brat.”

“Good thing I’m agender,” They quip.

Sans paused, rolling his ‘eyes’ in response, “I’ll be in my room if you need me.” He waved off the human, body still tense, and still shaking in anger.

He let his guard down as he felt light fingertips brush against the fabric of his hoodie. He turned his head to look back at Chara only to see them cleaning up the mess they had made. He let out a sigh, figuring he was imagining things as he stomped his way up the steps, heading back to his room, and heading to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

After a few hours of snooping around the skeleton brothers’ home, Chara became bored flipping through the various TV stations. Finally, they decided to pull up a late-night political show discussing monsters and monster immigration laws. They plop on the couch, half-watching the program. Luckily plenty of monster-rights activists have taken over the political scene, so most of the speciesist and racist lawmakers were outnumbered. Sadly their midnight viewing of the now-heated debate was cut short as a deep scream rips through the air.

Chara panicked for a moment, fearing that Sans may have hurt himself and was in the process of dusting. They sprint up the stairs unthinking and unaware of Sans’s terrible night terrors.

They tore open the door to his room only to see the ethereal glow from his magic that swirled around him. It tore apart his room. Sobs escaped from his rib cage and ectoplasmic tears spilled from his eye sockets. He was hyperventilating, muttering his brother's name over and over again.

“Sans!” They shout, trying to pull him from his own screams, “Sans! Look at me!” They felt the familiar tightening pull of his magic as he did so.

“Fuck you, dirty brother killer.” With a swipe of Sans’s arm, Chara was thrown into the wall, pain blossoming from their shoulder. The force themselves away from the wall, just in time to avoid the bone attack. 

“Sans! I’m not going to hurt you!” They cried between labored breaths, their injured arm dangling uselessly in its socket. A throbbing ache lingering as they try to reassure him that everything was okay and that his brother was alive. "Your brother is alive and at college. Please, Sans! Listen to me!"

With a crackle and pop of magical energy, the skeleton was looming over the teen. He snarled wrapping his phalanges around Chara’s throat, tight enough that he could feel their blood struggling to pump through their veins. He sneered at them as they writhed in his grip, tears falling from their wide eyes as they gasped and choked for air. He didn't believe them, he couldn't. Their fingers attempted to pull his hands away, but his grip was too strong.

Chara stopped struggling as black began to swarm their vision. Their entire body felt tense, their muscles sore as panic overtook their senses. They thought that they were going to die again, they _were_ going to die again. Then suddenly they were on the floor, coughing hard enough that specks of blood spill out. They meet eyes with the skeleton, his eye sockets slowly dimming at the realization of what had happened.

“I’m sorry,” They whimper, feeling guilty for their actions from a previous run. They knew that they were the cause of his nightmares, of his night-terrors. They knew that they were to blame for everything. They always were. It was always their fault. “I’m sorry”

Sans knew he should be sorry too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment to give advice.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry it will all come together, just give it time.   
> Please provide constructive criticism.

Sans sighed, forcing himself to relax as he watched the human fall into a sobbing mess.

They were a chaotic combination of sorrow and terror. Their blunt nails digging into their own soft flesh as they curled into a ball. Chara’s self-destructive tendencies came through as they expressed their apologies on repeat. It was much like a broken record player would play the same section of a song over and over again.

As much as Sans should be annoyed, he felt sorry for the kid. It seemed that they were just as fucked up about the no mercy run as he was. Upon realizing this, his tense posture relaxed and he sat on the floor beside them. His larger frame enveloping the human in a hug. He was surprised that they tried to push themselves away from him.

“Go away!” They shout, sniffling a little. They try to wipe the snot and tears off of their face, only to yelp as Sans pulled them into another hug.

“Listen, brat. I don’t trust you, I can’t right now. You’ve killed me and my bro, and I don’t take that shit lightly. Frisk sees something in you and they wanna save you,” He turned them around, despite Chara's protests, “I want you to tell me why. No bullshit, the truth.”

Chara stopped fighting, becoming still in his arms. A defiant expression painted their face and for a few moments, the night’s air was still and silent. Then they spoke:

“The Player. They told Frisk to fight, but Frisk didn’t want to fight. I didn’t either but they were younger than me. I thought I could handle it, but I couldn’t. They believe that I can be saved because they know that I did everything I did to protect them.” They paused, unable to meet Sans’s shocked gaze.

Sans was silent, trying to digest the information. It was a lot to take in. Everything that Chara did was based on a delusion, a delusion that both Frisk and Chara shared. Defeated in his attempt of trying to understand, he sighed.

“Go ahead and say it.” Chara said abruptly, causing Sans to shift in surprise. “Call me delusional, a freak, a goddamn psychopath. I know you want to.” They tense in his arms, turning their face away from them. With how Chara's voice cracked as they spoke and how they seemed to prepare for his actions, Sans knew that Chara was defending themselves. They were defending themselves from his disappointment or his anger. He knew because he has done the same thing with his own father.

“I ain’t going to rib ya, I do think you’re a little crazy-”

“I knew it,” They interrupted with a scoff, “Just like ev-”

“But I also know you believe it to be true. I’ll try to understand, brat,” He paused, staring down at Chara who sputtered in disbelief. A smirk played on his skull, “We never did talk much in the four years we’ve been on the surface. I admit part of it was my reluctance to talk to you.”

Chara stared at him for a while, trying to figure out his angle. After some time, their expression softens and they explain, “ ‘Communication is key to recovery.’”

“I don’t know about you, but I’m tired,” Sans admits with a yawn, scratching his stomach.

“Sleep, then talk?” Chara offered, cocking a brow and smirking.

“Sounds good to me”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apologies College is slowly choking me to death.

Morning came around faster than Sans hoped. His anxiety and dread for the next day grew and grew until he fell into a comfortable numbness. He went through the long list of objectives he has to do for the day ranging from putting on clean clothes to feeding his rock to raking the leaves in the yard. He groaned, rubbing his eye sockets and heard a gentle knock on the door. He ignored it, staring up at the ceiling. He didn’t have the energy to do things yet today.

The door clicked open and Chara came in, a tray full of pancakes and hash browns. “Brought you some food. The ingredients were grown by magic, so you can eat it.”

He didn’t budge.

“You need to eat, Sans.”

With a sigh, he sat up and Chara passed him the tray. They stayed to make sure he ate, stare intense, but while he ate Sans noted how it seemed that Chara wanted to speak. “Is there something on your mind, brat?”

Chara’s face turned red as they swung their head away from him, “Pfft! No.”

Sans snorted, “There had to be something bumping around in your skull of yours,” He paused for a moment, waiting for a response. When he got none, he continued, “I don’t need eyes to see that you were staring at me. Good thing too, seeing how I don’t have any.” 

There was a beat of silence while Chara examined his lazy, grinning expression. Apparently, they didn’t find what they were looking for, “Don’t worry about it, Sans. I’m going to go clean the dishes.”

“Alright kiddo. I’ll be up here, getting ready. It’s Saturday, right?” Sans shifted, moving the tray off to the side and sliding on his slippers. 

“Yep,” Chara hummed in response taking the tray and heading downstairs.

Sans stared at the wall for a moment, re-thinking over the previous night. Chara seemed genuinely upset and regretful over their actions, but the words that haunted him still rang clear in his skull ‘ _ You were so fun to kill! The challenge gave me such a rush! I almost felt alive.’ _ The memory itself was enough to make a chill run up his spine. The kid had changed a lot in four years, maybe the therapy did help. He should give them a second chance. 

Sans slowly stood up, stretching a little before heading downstairs. Chara was leaning against the counter, and Sans watched as they struggled to put butter on their toast with a spoon. 

He chuckled a bit, “You know you can just use a butter-”

“No knives.” They glare at him, their eyes redder than the brown he was used to. Blue sweat dripped down the side of his skull. 

“Alright… No knives.”

Their expression softened slightly, “Sorry… I just… They’re um ‘triggers’,” They made air quotes before quickly blushing and hiding their hands, embarrassed. “I get really bad panic attacks when seeing them.” 

“Shit, kid! Sorry.” He stood up straight about to offer some sort of consolation.

They push him away with a small smirk, “It’s fine Sans. Really. You didn’t know.”

Sans shoved his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, making sure to conceal the whoopie cushion in his hand. “How ‘bout this, we start over. Seeing how uh… bad… things were the first.”

After a moment’s pause and a shocked look passing over Chara’s features, “Alright, mister funny bone.”

“Heya I’m Sans. Sans the skeleton.” He held out his hand and Chara took it, the farting noise echoing through the house. Chara glared at him, deadpanned. Sans couldn’t help but snicker at the reaction. From his laughter, Chara began laughing too. 

“God damn it, Sans!” They took a moment to re-compose themselves, “Greetings, I am Chara Dreemurr.”

“You should probably work.”

“And you should rake leaves.”


	5. Chapter 5

An orange scrub brush pressed against colored hands, brushing off the vibrant but peeling paint off of Chara’s hands. The dark, emerald green seemed to refuse to come off of their flushed skin. Their breath leaves in the form of a sigh as they turn off the water. They dry their hands with a paper towel, staring out the window at the freshly-raked lawn. They were surprised at how much work Sans actually got done. A smile tugs at their lips as they shake their head. Their oncoming thoughts were interrupted by the front door opening and closing. 

Chara turned their head and cocked a brow at Sans, who was removing his heavy fall jacket to reveal his usual blue hoodie underneath. The skeleton met their gaze, and his grin widened; 

“Just finished leafing the rakes—” Upon realizing what he said, Sans went quiet. A slight blue tinge spread across his cheekbones as he re-dressed himself, then backed out of the house. He took gentle care and closed the door. This left Chara both alone and in silence for a moment or two. They barely managed to stifle their laughter as Sans once again re-entered the house declaring, “— Guess who just finished raking the leaves!” He then went back through his ritual of removing the jacket and exchanging his heavy ‘working boots’ with his pink slippers.

Chara couldn’t help but tease him for his mistake. They shot him a cheeky grin as they placed their trash in the bin, “Are you sure you weren’t leafing the rakes.” Sans’s head snapped towards them, making a physical popping noise. Chara quickly turned back to the sink to grab their palette and brushes, pride and amusement bubbling in their chest at his reaction.

“Brat,” Sans grumbled as he joined Chara in the kitchen to see what they worked on while he raked the leaves. He was rewarded with an overly ostentatious painting of a cat in a garden laid on the table ready to be framed once dry. He turned to them for an explanation.

Chara let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of their nose. The annoyance in their voice as they begrudgingly explained, “Miss Einsworth. You know, the crazy cat lady down the road? She commissioned me to paint Mr. Snuffles, her cat,—” Chara paused, hearing the skeleton snort with laughter and shift to hide his laughter behind his hand, “She… even gave me reference photos… of her cat… in the garden… surrounded by a pile of gold.” 

Sans had barely kept his laughter at bay. With explanation, the situation was by far, way too funny. He let out a fit of bellowed laughter so strong it nearly knocked him over. He had to lean against the counter while Chara sputtered, obviously flustered over the situation. Tears spilled from his sockets as Chara stomped back over to the painting to clean up their mess.

Sans wheezed ‘Mr. Snuffles’ and ‘with reference’ between bouts of laughter while Chara finished placing their supplies in their tackle box. They stared at him as he took a few breaths to re-compose himself. 

“Are you done laughing at me yet?” Chara grumbled, clenching their fist. Their brown eyes glimmered red in the light of the room, which caused Sans to stop. He tilted his head to the side.  _ Did they really think that he was laughing at them? It seemed so. _

“Kiddo, it’s funny that she’s that obsessed with her cats. I wasn’t laughing at you,” Sans explained, his tone serious. He then asked, “Why would I laugh at you about that?”

Chara’s posture relaxed slightly and red glimmer to their eyes was gone. They blink a few times before responding, their pitch raising as they spoke, “Oh.” They blushed even more than they already were, averting their eye and rubbing one of their arms. Abashed, they apologized, “Sorry. I assumed— I thought you were laughing at me.”

“No harm was done, Kiddo. Dunno why you’d think I’d laugh at you. I mean, I’m more of the funny guy here, right?” Sans said waving a hand in the air and made a motion for offering a hug. 

Chara stayed put but gave him a slight smile and nod, “Yeah, you’re right,” They then began shaking their head,“ Sorry.” They then head to the living room, hiding their face from Sans the rest of the night. Sans made fancy hotdogs for the both of them that night, and not once throughout the day did Chara smile. In fact, Sans noticed that it seemed they were constantly lost in their thoughts, picking at their nails.

“Did I say somethin’ to scare you off?” He asked suddenly, which caused Chara to jump a little. His voice cracked a little as he spoke, “I mean, I am supposed to be the scary one. So it fits, but—”

“ —No, Sans. It’s not you. I just— … Do you have a landline I can use?”

Sans motioned back to the kitchen, “Yeah in there… Somethin’ wrong?”

Chara gave him a shaky smile and left to go to the kitchen. He didn’t eavesdrop, didn’t have the ears for it. Besides, it’s rude to eavesdrop. He put the T.V. on and began watching some human show about space-time travel, and fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> UH!!! REALLY DON'T READ IF SELF HARM AND MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES TRIGGER YOU! I may be the author and I don't really know you, but I'd hate for you to get hurt from reading one of my fics. I created this outline of this fic as a vent piece when I was in a really bad place. So these themes of mental illness, depression, and self-harm are going to be present through most of this fic...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I'm surprised anyone wants more of this dumpster fire. I appreciate the love and support but realize that this gets a lot worse before it gets better.

**Seriously, don't read this chapter if blood/gore, self-harm, and mental health problems trigger you.**

 

Sans awoke in his room. There was no smell of cooking food, no light spilling in from behind the blinds, and checking the clock it as almost midday. He was about to go back to sleep when he heard screaming from downstairs. He bolted out of bed. He rushed out of his room to look out over the landing. He feared that Chara was being murdered but only found that Chara was waking from what seemed to be a nightmare. Their body was tense and curled up in a ball on the couch. They sobbed loudly and hid their face with their hair. 

Slowly, Sans came down the steps and asked, “Kiddo?”

Chara turned their head, and he saw a flash of red glimmer in their eyes. At that moment, Sans panicked, preparing a bone attack as they lunged at him. He was impacted not by a knife, but by a hug. Then they began to sob into his chest, the magical attack was dangerously close to piercing their chest… He was shocked. They were seeking comfort in him. Slowly the magic dissipated, and he let Chara sob into his ribcage.

“Chara?” He asked, wary and confused.

“Shut up and let me hug you,” They bark angrily.

Sans slowly and hesitantly wrapped his arms around them. It seemed that that was what they really wanted, as they melted into his touch. He was confused, obviously, at why they chose to seek comfort from him. 

Just as he was about to ask, Chara explained, “I had a nightmare.” He could feel them grimace, then hugged them tighter.

“Must have been a hell of a nightmare.”

“I… Yeah,” They frown and furrow their brow. They then sigh, “Asriel is too busy with college, and my therapist is out of town this week, or else I’d call them… Thanks.”

Sans nodded, “No problem kid. I’ll order us something from Grillby’s alright?”

“You sure? I don’t mind cooking.”

“Relax kiddo. I don’t think Grillbz minds. I’ll be back in a jiffy,” He says with a wink, about to click his fingers. Panic crosses Chara’s features and they reached out for him, just as he disappeared.

“Don’t—!” They start, but it was too late, he was gone. They begin shaking and clutch their blanket, tears fell from their cheeks and spilled onto the colorful fabric. “Don’t leave me alone...” And their outlook became darker, yet darker.

Sans popped into existence at Grillby’s. The fire elemental let out a surprised pop and a crackling sigh as he relaxed once more. He tilted his head a little as if asking ‘Why are you here?’

“Kiddo and I need burgs to go, Grillbz. Desperately. And maybe some hot cocoa for Chara. Nightmares. Dangerous stuff.” Sans explained as he came up and leaned onto the counter. Grillby nodded and walked to the kitchen. Sans went to pull out his phone, only to realize he was still in his socks and night pants. He sighed and sat down, waiting for the return of Grillby.

Meanwhile, Chara stared at the blank wall with wide eyes. They could hear the player’s voice clear as day, insisting for them to again kill everyone they knew and loved. Their eyes burned, and there were no more tears left to give. Slowly, one-by-one their emotions slipped away, and they felt nothing. They watch through their eyes as their body got up and began to head towards the kitchen.

After about 20 minutes Sans popped back into the house, setting the food on the kitchen counter. He called out, “Food’s here.” He then placed his phalanges into a pool of blood. For a moment he stared at it, wondering how the hell it got there. Then he realized that Chara never responded. He pulled his hand away and looked around. A trail of blood led out of the room. Sans felt his soul stutter in his chest. His eye lights flicker out as he followed it, up the stairs with a bloody handprint on the wall, smearing up to the top floor. “Chara?” He called out, his voice cracking as he continued following the trail. Eventually, he came to the bathroom door, cracked open with the handle covered in blood. There was what sounded like sobs inside. Slowly, he opened the door. 

Chara stared back at him with wide eyes and toothy grin, what sounded like sobs was actually soft bubbles of disturbing laughter. Their gaze was distant and their pupils were blown. Stabbed through their hand was a carving knife. Chunks of their hair were littered on the floor and their face was still tear stained.

“I’m still here.” Chara muttered softly with their creepy smile, “I’m still here Sans. It’s still me.” At that, Sans backed out of the room, closed the door and locked it with magic.

He called 911. 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not quite sure how this is going, but eh. I'm trying.


End file.
